In preparation to my solo ride next week, I bought a Solace Sprint jacket last week. I am 5ft 9in tall, 78kg and wear a 40 size shirt. Since they didnt have dealers in Chennai had to order online. They said for my chest size 100cm the right size is medium but suggested to go for Large size as I am tall.

Received the jacket in 2 days and it fits me well. Without the thermal liner it's a little loose but I guess the fit with the thermal liner is what needs to be snug fit (though I won't be using it in Chennai).

Its a mesh jacket which comes with CE rated armor (shoulder, elbow and back), rain and thermal liners. I have a couple of observation but will do detailed validation of those before I list them. I ll be putting up a detailed review post my ride next weekend.

I have very bad knee pain after a couple of hours of riding. I wear the advento riding pants from rynox along with the knee and shin armor. I am not sure if it's the armor that's causing the pain. I also figured maybe I am getting dehydrated and I got myself a water bladder. Used it on just one trip last weekend, but the knee pain kind of persists. Not excruciating, but it's there. Standing on the pegs, or stretching the legs while riding brings brief respite. When I halt, I have to scream in relief. Unbelievably, the same happens with my fingers. Cramping and discomfort. This I put to grabbing the bars too tightly, and I think a better padded glove will help as well.

I tried grabbing the tank with my thighs , whenever I remember to, but it doesn't seem to make any difference.

I am going to ride without the internal armor for a day, I have borrowed an external Dainese knee V to see if I still have knee discomfort.

I have faced very excruciating, amputation degree knee pain in the past, wearing the wrong trekking boots on a one month long trek to the mountains, changed the shoes, wham, pain gone. This pain is kind of similar.

The knee pain doesn't arise when I walk extremely long periods, 20-25 kms a day.

I have begun yoga as well, hoping it's an issue of strengthening the knee muscles to avoid cramping. I have extremely bad flexibility, which I hope to address this year as my riding hours begin to increase.

I have been a silent reader of past few pages since decided to upgrade my lower body protection gears and also add a good glove to the kit.

First thing on the list is a riding boot. Since frequency of proper rides are like monthly once, I prefer an all weather boot with adequate protection. A boot which can keep me comfortable in the southern summer and monsoons, also it should serve me for my dream trip to the Himalayas. Too much to ask? But I have a limited budget of <10K .

Second thing is a riding pants and I was choosing between Aspida Odysseus and Rynox Advento. I am a loyal SPG customer but the Knox armors for hips and knees in Advento is advantage. Both are in same price range of <8K and comes with rain as well as thermal liners. Waiting to hear from RedLiner on his experiments with Advento!

Third item in list is the gloves for which I am seeing good options in this last page itself. Staying tuned.

I bought the Coot during the launch about 6 years ago for 1800 INR and it still works for me. I have been using it for the rides with my earlier Yezdi and now Duke. The color seems to go well with the Duke. The shoes is waterproof which came in handy during my Leh ride. I used to wear it to work earlier when a toe protection was mandatory, but later on anti static shoes was the requirement after which I used them only during the rides.

The con is the weight. With a heavy leather and the metal toe protection, it tips the scales at around 1.8 kg. This will be taking a toll on your legs at the end of a long days ride. My shoes came in with different length laces for both the shoes. Apart from these, I am happy for what I paid for. But the latest price seems to be unrealistic in today's world.

Second thing is a riding pants and I was choosing between Aspida Odysseus and Rynox Advento. I am a loyal SPG customer but the Knox armors for hips and knees in Advento is advantage. Both are in same price range of <8K and comes with rain as well as thermal liners. Waiting to hear from RedLiner on his experiments with Advento!

I have been using this for daily for close to 2 months and the only down side I can think of is the near lack of mesh area (if you discount the aero flip panel). The pants fits well and offers good protection. Go for it, you will love them.

I have been using this for daily for close to 2 months and the only down side I can think of is the near lack of mesh area (if you discount the aero flip panel). The pants fits well and offers good protection. Go for it, you will love them.

--Anoop

Thanks Man. One issue I foresee is the interconnect zip between the jacket and pants. My Aspida Nemesis would not be compatible with Rynox as I understand from DJ helmets guy. They have both in stock, planning to visit them over the weekend to try and buy.

Also any pointers on Zeus ZX1 boots? Couldn't find any one in my circle using them but looks like nothing else matches the spec in <10K range.

Thanks Man. One issue I foresee is the interconnect zip between the jacket and pants. My Aspida Nemesis would not be compatible with Rynox as I understand from DJ helmets guy. They have both in stock, planning to visit them over the weekend to try and buy.

If both zippers are same in size, I don't see why they shouldn't match. I have never tried attaching the zippers of the pants and jacket, so no idea if by TBG jacket zipper will work with Rynox Advento.

The best bet is to take the jacket and try and personally, even if the zippers don't match, I will go with the Advento because of the additional protection. If you are very particular about zippers, you can get a YKK plastic tooth zipper and attach them to the pants and jackets - any good shoe cobbler should be able to do it.

As the monsoons have hit kerala, my SPG ares leather gloves were left useless. So i was in the market for a pair of WP gloves that'll last at least one year and will stay WP in heavy rains. There were very few options in my limited budget of 3.5k. After some research i zeroed in on cramster tundra and SPG poseidon. Since most of my gear were SPG products and they've lasted fairly well i was more inclined towards poseidon. Made a call to DJ helmets, cochin and they had only Poseidon in stock. Picked up the last pair they had for 2.9k.

Like many WP gloves these are chunky. The fit was weird for me. There is some space between the tip of the gloves and thumb but all other fingers fit perfectly. Little finger was hurting a little but improved after some breaking in. While riding, the feedback from the controls is rather muted and it takes some getting used to. I'd have liked them more if it were a bit thinner. Rode it almost 300 kms in a completely wet ride. There was substantial rain and the gloves held up well for a few hours eventually getting soaked. Once wet, these do tend to get very tricky to remove and put back due to the presence of an inner liner. In the next ride, i tried wearing them over the jacket's rain liner and under the sleeves of the jacket. It worked much better and kept my hands fairly dry. But the next day i noticed that the stitching has came off in one of the gloves.

Only done 600 kms with them so far. I'll try to get a replacement. Not satisfied with the build quality since my current SPG gloves are going strong after one and half years of daily usage and two spills

Only done 600 kms with them so far. I'll try to get a replacement. Not satisfied with the build quality since my current SPG gloves are going strong after one and half years of daily usage and two spills

4+ rupees per KM cost for a glove is unacceptable. It should last you an year with the season it is specified to be used. Thanks for sharing your feedback. Modern day CRAMSTERs are known to be crapsters among bikers and SPG is known to be better in terms of quality and support.

DJ should certainly help you out for a solution. Please post the updates after contacting DJ/SPG.

Came across an interesting pair of riding jeans from Bull-it. This company is based out of UK and uses COVEC which the company claims is better abrasion resistant than leather. Some of the videos seen on YouTube left me spellbound on the results these jeans produce -

These are expensive for sure ($180 on Revzilla), but I'm also sure it'll be worth the investment and a perfect substitute for mesh riding pants. Also attached is the link to their corporate website - http://www.bull-it.com/bull-itjeans